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“What’s the point of having money if you are living in squalor?” He continued as the door shut and my mother appeared.
Damn. She had heard that; I could tell that it hurt too when she gripped the apron tightly. But she plastered a polite smile on her face as she walked into the room.
“Anya. I’m so glad to see you. You look well.” She said, which meant she didn’t think I looked well at all, not that she would say it.
“My name is Grace Hart.” She said to Damien, holding out her hand.
Damien smiled slyly and I cringed as he pulled her in for a hug.
“None of that formal stuff, we are practically family.” He said and I heard the intake of breath from someone behind me.
I turned slowly, my heart skipping a beat when I saw who it was.
Beau Daley.
He was watching the interaction between my mother and Damien, and I took in the lines at the corner of his eyes that were new, the two-day-old stubble on his face that covered the hard line of his jaw.
His skin was darker, hours of being in the sun taking its toll. His eyes swung to me, and I was immediately taken back to the first time I realized I was in love with him.
He had been teaching me how to saddle my horse, his hand touching mine as he pointed out the parts of the saddle.
I remember the sharp intake of breath before he looked at me and smiled. I was thirteen and he was fourteen. It was the beginning of years of an agonizing crush that ended in heartache when he started dating Jane Lionel, the daughter of one of the famous rodeo riders from Devils Tooth Ridge.
Their relationship had fizzled out quickly when she had to travel with her father, but it put tension between me and Beau that never truly disappeared.
Then as adults, he became known as the ladies’ man at the local pub and I was seen as the good girl, the plain one who was merely one of the boys.
Every time I tried to date; Beau would scare them off like it was some kind of sick game for him to make me suffer. I never understood why he hated me dating when he had shown no interest in wanting to be with me.
Oh, I found my way around his tactics and had my fair share of fun times, but it put even more tension between us to the point that when I left, we practically hated each other.
“Beau,” I said and he looked me up and down, strolling past me to get himself something to drink.
“You live in this house now?” I shot, hating how comfortable he looked as he leaned against the kitchen sink, drinking his water.
“I do. So does my brother. The rooms were spare, and Austin offered them to us.” He said, completely shocking me.
“Oh yes. These two practically lived here anyway, so it only made sense.” My mother said as she dusted off her hands.
“Damien,” Damien said as he held out his hand to Beau who looked at him like he was a bug to be squashed. To be fair, Damien did look like a city boy who was playing dress-up.
“Beau.” He said as he shook Damien’s hand.
“So, I’m not staying. I’m only here to look over the paperwork, grab some things, and talk to some agents to sell.” I said and my mother dropped the coffee cup she was carrying to the sink to wash.
“Did you say you want to sell?” She whispered and I nodded.
“I’m sure there is something that can be arranged if you want to purchase it from me, but I want no part of this place,” I said and I saw the tears in her eyes.
“I don’t have the money to buy you out. Everything I have is tied up in this place and I know the equity isn’t great right now. We have been in a drought for the last three years.” she said softly.
“Well. I would suggest speaking to your lawyer about that. I made some calls on my way here. I have an agent coming tomorrow. The lawyer contacted me as well, he is coming out next week.” I said and she glanced at Beau.
“You can’t sell this place, Anya. There are too many people who depend on work here for their livelihood. You would destroy lives.” He said and I shrugged.
“I’m sure they would keep people on for work,” I said, staring at him in challenge.
“Why would you do this? It’s your home.” Mama said as she grabbed the broom to sweep the broken pieces.
